PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia has selected former City Councilmember Cherelle Parker as its 100th mayor. Parker will be the first Black woman to hold the office after coming out on top of a crowded Democratic primary in May, and beating Republican David Oh in the general election.
"You are going to be able to tell your kids, your grandkids, you were in the room when it happened. Can we make some noise for this very historic night?"
Philadelphia radio personality Patty Jackson captured the mood at Parker's Election Night headquarters, the Sheet Metal Workers Local 19 on Columbus Boulevard in South Philly.
"I just want to say that the historic moment has not lost on anybody," said Aren Platt, a senior campaign adviser. "I was able to vote today with my 3-year-old daughter, and she was able to cast a vote for Philadelphia's first woman mayor. She will grow up in a city that has a woman as her mayor."
Oh was hopeful going into Tuesday’s election that he could be Philadelphia’s first Republican mayor in more than 70 years. He says he ran for mayor because he felt there wasn’t a reason to stay on City Council.
“I didn’t feel that I was being effective after 11 years, and I was starting to recycle bills. And so I thought the best thing that I could do is to offer the voters a choice,” he said.
To his supporters at his Election Night headquarters, the Emperor Restaurant in Bustleton, Oh conceded that the voters had spoken.
"We have come to the end of this journey. Cherelle Parker is the 100th mayor of Philadelphia, so I congratulate her I wish her well."
David Oh concedes defeat
He said he knew going in that he was facing an overwhelming Democratic registration edge and Parker’s multimillion-dollar fundraising advantage.
“It’s an uphill battle of course, right? We knew that from the beginning. The amount of money, the amount of effort, the amount of force and power.”
But Oh said it was important not to be afraid to believe your ideas.
Political analyst Mustafa Rashed says he thinks Oh just couldn't find his footing in the race.
"One of the things I thought was fascinating about this race is that where he stood on some of the issues, especially around public safety, was actually a bit to the left of the more moderate candidate Cherelle Parker. And so trying to find his footing, try to find a lane for him to be in, was challenging."
Cherelle Parker victory speech
In front of a jubilant crowd of supporters, the former city councilwoman, state legislator and high school English teacher made scant mention of her historic ascension to the mayor’s office.
"People have talked a lot about the breaking of glass ceilings, but I haven’t been able to wrap my mind around that concept," she said.
Parker campaigned on a pledge to make Philadelphia safe, clean and green but she focused on the "safe" in her victory speech, promising to use every tool at her disposal.
"You won’t be able to go into a store and steal $499 worth of stuff and think it’s okay. We have to have a sense of order in our city," she said.
Issues of cime and public safety often placed her to the right of her Republican opponent, and she warned she might displease people as she uses every available tool to fight crime. In her campaign, this included vocal support of stop-and-frisk, which neither her predecessor, Mayor Jim Kenny, nor her Republican opponent supported.
She has also suggested that the National Guard could be part of the solution to drug and crime problems in Kensington, which Oh also did not support.
"I think what Cherelle Parker was saying is not to take any option off the table in how to address public safety," Rashed said.
But with her 11-year-old son Langston by her side, she also promised zero tolerance for abuse of police power.
"My former husband and I are divorced," she said. "We work hard to co-parent this prince."
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Rashed says parenting figures prominently in Parker's view of governing and policymaking, saying views the public safety needs of the city not only as a candidate but also as the mother of a young Black son — "she would think first and foremost: How does that work? How are police interactions going to be? How is public safety going to be? How are we going to make the city a better and safer place for young people?"
Parker rose from an unlikely beginning as the daughter of a single teenage mother who died when she was young. She was raised by her grandparents with the help of welfare and food stamps. She treated that as an asset.
"My real-life lived experience puts me closest to the people who are feeling the most pain right now in our city," she said.
"My life should be a textbook case study in how to turn pain into power."
Parker said she had accepted congratulations from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and said she would be calling on all levels of government and all communities to help achieve her goals for the city.
She said with unity Philadelphia will accomplish what others say is impossible. And to any lingering naysayers she told her supporters to say this: "Don’t put shade on my Philly shine."
KYW's Eric Walter contributed to this report.